Golf practicing machine



Aug. 2s, 1928.

, J. C. BACKUS GOLF PRACTICING MACHINE Filed July 16, 192'? km WR Aug. 28, 1928.

J. C. BACKUS GOLF PRACTICING MACHINE Filed July 16, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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UNITED STATES JOHN CLAYTON BAGKUS, F SMETHPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

GOLF PRACTICNG MACHINE.

Application filed July 16, 1927.

This invention relates to mechanism for indicating and registering the force and direction of strokes made in golf, and particu larly to certain improvements upon the mechanism which is illustrated, described and claimed in my application for patent on golf practicing machines, led June 4, 1925, Serial #$34,909.

The general object of the present invention is to greatly simplify the mechanism illustrated in my prior application and to provide a very simple and efficient device for practicing golf which includes a mat and a tee upon which the golf ball may be rested, and two indicators, one indicating the length of the stroke made upon strikingr the ball, and the other indicating whether the ball has been sliced or hooked and the degree to which the ball has been sliced or hooked.

A further object is to provide a golf practicing machine having indicators as described and having a member which is shifted against the action of a spring under the impulse of the ball when it is driven by a club, and provide a latch which permits the member to move in one direction under theimpulse of the driven ball but latches immediately to prevent any Aretraction of said member to thus hold the-indicator which is operatively connected to the member at the point indicating the maximum distance to which the ball has been driven, this latching means also acting through connecting mechanism to hold the direction indicator', that is the indicator showing the hook or slice in the exact position which it takes as the ball is struck.

A still further object is to so connect the ball to the cable or cord of the machine that the ball cannotunder any circumstances become detached without the ball being actually broken.

Other objects will appear in the course of the 'following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view of a golf practicing machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the machine with the top plate and mat removed;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on an enlarged scale on the line 4-4 of Figure 3; v

Figure 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Serial No. 206,277.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6 6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a section through the ball and shackle; d

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section on the line 8-8 of Figure 1;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section on the line 9 9 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a metallic casing of any suitable form having inturned flanges 11 and which casing is rch tively shallow, narrow and long. One end of the casing is formed to provide a slot 12 and a roller 13 is mounted in the casing just above this slot in ears attached to the Yfront wall of the casing. The top plate 14 of the casing'is also of metal having downwardly extending marginal flanges, and this top plate is provided with a longitudinally eX- tended sunken portion 15 along one margin of the plate, and disposed in this sunken pbr tion is the scale 16 to show how far a ball has been driven. The middle portion of the plate 14 has a segmental shaped depressed portion 17, the end wall of which is areuately slotted at 18, and this depressed portion carries the scale 19 which shows whether the ball has been sliced or hooked and the extent of this slice or hook.

Disposed in front of the plate 14 and extending over the remainder of the casing 10 is a metallic plate 20, and supported upon this metallic plate is the fiber mat 2l having upwardly extending bristles. Extending up@ ward through this liber mat is the tee 22 which is in the form of a rubber tube having a base 23. This base is held between the metallic plateZO and the mat by a plate 24 having an opening through which the tee extends. `rllhe tee extends slightly above the upper face of the mat, as shown in Figure 2.

y Mounted in any suitable manner within the casing 10 and preferably adjacent one margm thereof is the cylinder 25. This cylinder is open at one end and at the other end is provided with a small opening 2G through which air may pass. Operating within the cylinder is a plunger rod 27 which at one end carries the rubber piston 2S. Surrounding this plunger rod and bearing at one end against the head 29 of the plunger and at the other end against the end wall of the cylinder, as shown in Figure 4, is a coiled compression spring 8O which resists the outward move ment ofthe rod 27,. The open end of the cylinder is held. to the floor of Adie casing by a bracket 31. This bracket 31 extends over the end of the cylinder and has a tongue which extends downward part way into the cylinder, as shown in Figure 4, leaving an opening for t-he plunger rod 27 which rides on a support 32 in advance of thebracket 31.

The forward end of the plunger rod is bifurcated and engaged with the forward end of the plunger rod is a clip 33 U-shaped in cross section, which embraces the plunger rod and extends out in advance thereof, as at 34. This clip is connected tothe plunger rod by means of the bolt 35. A cable or cord 36 constituting a flexible element has mounted upon its inner end the eye 37 which is disposed in the bifurcation of the clip 33 and is held in place therein by means of the cotter pin 38. The extension 34 of clip 33 is laterally lian ged at 39, and mounted upon this lateral flange is an upwardly extending pin 40 and the base 41 of an indicator 42 which extends upward fromthe base and is then angularly bent and pointed, as at 43. This indicator 43, as shown in Figure 1, extends upward just above the level of the scale 16 and travels over thefgraduations on said scale.

Thecable 36 passes over a pulley 44 mount ed between the floor of the case 10 and a plate 45. The cord then passes longitudinah ly along the machine and through the slot 12. The cord or cable adjacent this slot 12 passes between two upwardly extending guide pins 46 and then through an eye 47 forming part tached at its free end to a golf ball 53.

a golf club or Igolf stick.

of a lever 48 pivoted at 49 to the floor of the casing, this` lever having the upwardly extending lateral flanges 50 and at its rear end having the laterally projecting ear 51. Angular stop plates 52 are disposed on each side of the lever 48 in a forwardly divergent position and act to limit the throw of the plate 43.

The cable may have any desired length after it passes through the slot 12 and is at- This golf ball, as shown in Figure 7, is securely shackle-d to the cable 36 so that it cannot under any circumstances be broken loose from the cable by any ordinary blow given to it by To this end, the golf ball is formed with a diametrically extending passage, through which extends the cotter pin 54. The ends of this cotter pin extend into a countersink 55 and are overturned against a washer 56 disposed in the bottom of the countersink. lith the e-ye of the cotter pin there is engaged the solid link 57.

Surrounding the end of the cord or cable 36 is a ferrule 58. This ferrule is provided with a ange 59, and loosely surrounding the hanged end of the ferrule is an annular member 60 which bears against this lange and is rotatable with relation to the ferrule. This annular member is provided with the ears 61 which embrace the link 57 and are held thereto by a transverse bolt 62. A screw 63 is forced into the material of the cord or cable to expand the same against the ferrule, and the inner end portion of the ferrule is compressed, as at 64. upon the cable 36. lt will be seen that the ball is swingingly connected to the cable and is also swiveled upon the cable so that the ball in turning or twisting will not in any way twist or turn the cable.

For the purpose of indicating the degree to which the ball has been sliced or hooked, T mount upon the plate 45 the lever 65. This lever is pivoted at 66 and immediately opposite the pivot the lever has an upwardly extending ear 67, to which is attached the pointer 68. This pointer extends through the slot 18 and operates over the scale 19, as shown in Figure 1. @ne end of the llever is connected by the elongated link 69 to the ear 51 on lever 48. The opposite end of the lever is formed with an arcuate series of teeth 65a.

is struck .in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1, the cord or cable 36will pull out the plunger rod 27 and that the degreeof out' ward movement of the plunger rod will depend entirely upon the force with which the ball if struck. lt will also be seen that if the i it of the ball be perfectly straight, the cable will not be drawn to one sideor the other and, therefore, the lever 48 will not be affected by the flight of the ball, and if the ball be so struck that it is directed toward the right in Figure 3, or in other words if the ball be sliced, the lever43 will be shifted to the right in Figure 3, which will force the indicator hand 63 in the proper direction over the indicator 19 to indicate that rthe ballhas been sliced. lf, on the other hand, the ball has been hooked7 or directed toward the left in Figure 3, the lever 43 will be shifted toward the left and through the link 69 will shift the lever 65 so that the pointer 63 will indicate the amount of hook given to the ball.

lt is necessary to hold or lock the indicators and indicating actuating mechanism at the point of maximum movement given to them when the ball is struck. To this end, l provide a plunger lock, shown particularly in Figures 3 and 4. This comprises a U-shaped bracket 7() which .is attached to the floor of the casing imn'iediately in advance of the open end of the cylinder and of the bracket 31, and mounted upon this bracket is a U-shaped lever 71 pivoted upon the U-shaped bracket at 7 2 and carrying a transverse pin 73 which extends through a somewhat upwardly and forwardly inclined slot 74 formedl in the sice walls of the bracket 70. lt will be seen that the top of this bracl-get is slightly inclined upward.

Disposed upon this pin 73 is a locking roller 75. A spring 76 attached to the lever 71 and to the bracket 31 acts to draw the lever 71 toward the adjacent end of the cylinder .ltwill be obvious new that when the ball e lll() lil) and, therefore, force the roller 7 3 into wedging engagement with the plunger rod and between the plunger rod and the upwardly inclined upper wall of the bracket 7 0,'thus preventingv any rearward movement of the plunger' rod. The plunger rod, however, has free forward movement under the impulse of the .struck ball acting through the cable 36.

Itis obvious now that when the plunger rod is drawn out of the cylinder by the cable 36, it is prevented from any retraction under the action of the spring by its roller pawl 73 or latching mechanism. This acts, therefore, to hold the plunger rod at the maximum posit-ion assumed by it under the action of the struck ball. This locks, of course, the indicator or pointer 43 in the position which it has taken upon the scale 16, and in order to lock the pointer 68 in the position it assumes under the action of lever 48, I provide a locking lever 77. This locking lever' is pivoted upon the plate 45 by the pivot 78. The rear end of the locking lever extends beneath and beyond the toothed end of lever and is engaged by a contractile spring 79 which tends to draw this rear end of the lever laterally. Mounted upon this lever is an arcuate rack 8,0 which, when the lever is shifted, is adapted to engage with the teeth 7 O on lever y65 and to lock this lever in its shifted position. The lever 77 has supported thereon a plate 81 which overlies the rack and overlies the toothed end of lever 65 so as to prevent the lever 65 from springing upward away from the rack80. The rear end of the lever is also formed with a transverse slot 82 and a pin 83 passes through this slot, thus limiting the throw of the lever.

Pivotally mounted upon the plate 45 at each side of the lever 65 are the arms 84. These are pivoted to the plate at 85 and each arm at its forward end is upwardly ianged at 86. These upward ears or flanges bear against the opposite side edges of the lever 65. A contractile spring 87 is engaged at its ends with the arms 84 and draws these arms toward each other. Thus the lever 65 is urged toa zero or medial position at all times by the spring 87 acting through the arms 84. The lever, however, may be shifted in either direction against the action 0f one or the other of the arms and the spring 87. The lever 77 between the pivot 78 and the open end of the cylinder 25 is laterally deflected at 88 (see Figure 3) so as to extend over and beyond the path of travel of the plunger. Normally the pin 40 bears against the edge face of the extremity of the lever 77 and thus presses this end of the lever inward and holds the rear end of the lever outward so that the teeth 80 are out of engagement with the teeth 65. Then the index pointer 41 has traveled a predetermined distance under the action of the plunger and cable, the pin 40 will pass the inclined edge 88 and this will permit the forward end of the lever to swing laterally outward under the action of the spring 79, causing the immediate engage nient of the locking teeth 8O with the teeth 70 of lever 6,5. Thus it will be seen that there is a slight travel of the ball, the cable 36 and the plunger before the lever 65 and the pointer 68 are locked. This gives a chance for all whip to be taken out of the cable before the direction indicator 68 is locked in position, but the time is so short during which the pin 40 moves past the incline 88 that no time is left for the spring 87 to in any way retract or shift the pointer 68 to its medial position before the lever 65 is locked.

For the purpose of releasing the roller pawl or latch 73 from its engagement with the plunger rod 27 to permit the plunger rod to be retracted and thus retract the cable to its initial position, I provide a transverse roch shaft 89 which extends transversely across the easing and has a. bearing 90 in the fiange of one wall of the casing. Attached. to the floor of the casing is the angular supporting iron 91 which is slotted for the passage of the shaft 89 and this supporting iron is provided with the ears 92 disposed on a level above the shaft 89, and through these ears passes a Cotter pin 93 which locks the shaft in place in this bearing. This shaft 8) at its inner end is slightly cranked, as at 94, and this cranked portion bears against the lever 7l. The opposite end of the shaft e1:- tends through the wall of the casing and is provided with the arm which may be manually depressed and, when depressed, will act to throw the cranked portion 94 toward the right in Figure 4 against the lever 7l and force this lever toward the right against the action of spring 76 to thus release the plunger 27. As soon as the pressure upon the arm 95 has been released, the spring 76 will act to return the lever to its initial position and,v of course, return the rock shaft to its initial position. For the purpose of preventing the rock shaft from being rotated too far, T provide, as shown in Figure 9, a pin 96 on the rock shaft which acts as a limiting stop and engages beneath the flange 11 of the casing.

The depressed scale 16, as shown in Figure l, is formed with a notch 97 which permits the cover plate to be disposed over the casing and permits the indicator 43 to be extended up through this notch so that the angular' end of the indicator or pointer will be above the scale 16 and ride over the face of the same. After this plate is put in place.l it is held to the flange of the casing by screws 98 passing through the liange of the plate and through the flange ll. The base plate 2() is held to the flange ll by means of screws. It is obvious that when the mat wears out, a new mat may be substituted therefor by simply detaching the base plate from the original mat and substituting a new mat therefor.

The operation of'this device will be obvious from what has gone before. rlhe ball is disposed either upon the tee 2Q, or upon the surface of the mat and then is driven by the club in the direction of the arrow in Figure l. If the balll is driven correctly with no slice nor any hook, the pointer 68 will remain at Zero but the plunger will be pulled outward to a degree commensurate with the force of impact of the club against the ball and the pointer 43 will travel over the scale 16 and will stop at its maximum point of travel, thus indicatingk the number of yards which the ball would have been driven under the same stroke on a golf course. The plunger may then be released for a new stroke by depressing the arm 95 which releases the locking roller 73, as previously stated, and the spring 30 then acts to force the plunger backward. As the` plunger moves rearward under the force of the spring, this rrearward movement is retarded and cushioned by the cushioning piston 28 which acts as a dash pot piston, the air at the rear end of the cylinder escaping very slowly through the small apertuie 26 until the piston is returned to its initial position.

If a slice is given to the ball, the ball will be forced toward the left, assuming that the ball is being driven in the direction of the arrow in Figure l, and the lever 48 and link 69 will act, as previously described, to shift lever and pointer 68. The pointer will travel over the scale 19 and then will be held from any reverse movement or return movement by the interengagement of the lock teeth 8O with the teeth 65a. If the ball is pulled, the' cable will swing the lever 48 to the left and the pointer will travel from its zero position toward the word hook7 on scale 19, the degrees marked on this scale showing theextent of this hook. Of course, a release of the plunger and the rearward movement of the plunger under the action of the spring 27 acts by means of the pin 40 to release the lever 77, which shifts under the action of the spring 7 9 so as to release the engagement between the teeth 8O and the teeth 65, thus leaving the parts free for the next stroke. The arms 84 are held by the Spring 87 against stops 84 which are formed in the plate 115, thus preventing the respective arms from following inward against the lever G5 beyond a predetermined point.

One of the advantages ofthis construction resides in the fact that a dash pot is provided for checking the retraction of the spring when the indicator is released. One of the disadvantages of the construction illustrated in the prior application referred to was the fact that there was no way of cushioning or checking the retraction of the spring and as a consequence when the spring was released to re-set the indicators to zero, the rebound of the spring arred the entire structure and tended to destroy it. With the device as now constructed, the ball may not only be set upon theztee anddriven therefrom, but may be disposed upon the mat and thus exercise may be had in using any of the ordinary golf clubs with the exception of the putter.

`When it is desired to loft the ball, the ball may be disposed upon the mat with the cord yor cable arranged in a half loop and the club may pass directly under the ball without any chance of becoming tangled in the cable. `Whilel have illustrated a cable. l do not wish to be limited thereto, as other forms of iiexible connection might be used to hold the captive ball to the indicating machine.

While l have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangement of parts which l have found particularly effective in actual practice, l do not wish to be limited to the details as many changes might be made in this machine without departing from the spirit of the invention as detinedin the appended claims. The mechanism may be used as a game in which several players may compete or it may be used for practicing the game of golf at home to better the players strokes. The mechanism is very simple and thorough-v ly effective for the purpose intended, it is positive in its action, and inasmuch as there is no backward movement of the indicators, the mechanism will positively indicate 'to what extent the indicators have been moved under the action of the ball.

I claim .1. A golf practicing machine including a casing, distance-indicating means and direction-indicating means mounted upon the casing, and a captive golf ball operatively connected to said indicating means by a ilexible element, a portion of the casing having thereon a mat simulating turf Vupon which the golf ball may be placed, said mat having therein a tee projecting above the mat upon which the ball may be placed."

2. A. golf practicing machine includinga casing, direction-indicating and distance-indicating means mounted within the casing, a capt-ivegolf ball mounted `by a flexible element to said indicating means, a part of the casing having thereon a detachable plate, a mat detachably connected to said plate, and a ytee having a base disposed below the mat and having a portion extending up through the mat, the mat being detachably connected to said plate. l l

3. A golf practicing machine including a coiled compression spring, an abutment against which one end of the spring bears, a plunger engaged at one end'y with the free end of the spring, a golf ball operatively connected to said plunger to cause a movement of the plunger in a direct-ion to compress the spring when the golf ball is driven, an indi- 'ion llt)

cator operated by a movement of the plunger, means engaging the plunger and permitting the plunger to be moved in one direction by the flight of the ball but clamping the plung- .er against rearward movement under the action of the spring, said means including a roller pawl operating against one face of the plunger, and means for tripping said pawl to release the plunger.

el. A golf practicing machine including a coiled compression spring, an abutment against which one end` of the spring bears, a plunger engaged at one end with the free end of the spring, a golf ball operatively connected to said plunger to cause a movement of' the plunger in a direction to compress the spring when the golf ball is driven, an indicator operated by a movement of the plunger, means engaging the plunger and permitting the plunger to be moved in one direction by the-flight of the ball but clamping the plunger against rearward movement under the action of' the spring, said means including a pivoted member extending over the plunger, a roller pawl mountedin a slot in said member, said pawl being adapted to clamp the plunger upon a rearward movement thereof but permit the forward movement -of the plunger on the flight of the ball, and manually operable means for tilting said roller carrying member to thereby release the roller from engagement with the plunger.

5. A golf practicing machine including a support, a cylinder mounted upon the support a member arching over the open end of the cylinder and having a downwardly eX- tending flange formed with a returned tongue extending into the cylinder, a compression spring disposed within the cylinder and bearing against said flange, a plunger eX- tending into the open end of the cylinder and having a piston at its inner end operating within the cylinder, said plunger bearing against the returned flange, a captive ball operatively connected to said plunger, means permitting an outward movement of the plunger against the action of the spring but releasably locking the plunger from return movement under the action of the spring, and an indicator operatively connected to the plunger to move therewith.

6. A golf practicing machine including a captive ball, a plunger, a spring resisting movement of the plunger in one direction, an element operatively connecting the ball to the plunger, a distance indicator connected to and movable with the plunger, means for indicating the deflection of the ball from a straight median line including a lever carrying an indicator, a locking means for said lever normally out of engagement therewith, and means for shifting the locking means into engagement with the lever after the plunger has traveled a predetermined distance.

7. In a golf' practicing machine, a captive ball, a spring resisting movement of the ball under a stroke, a flexible element operatively connecting the ball tothe spring, means for indicating the distance said ball moves under a stroke, means for indicating deflection in the flight of the ball from a median line when driven, means for locking the distanceindicating means at its point of maximum movement, and means for locking the direction indicating means at its point of maximum movement and operating after whip has been taken from the -flexible element.

8. In a golf practicing machine, a captive ball, a coiled compression spring, a flexible element operatively connecting the ball to a spring, Athe spring resisting flight of the ball, a member movable with the flexible element and ball and indicating the distance made by the ball in flight, means indicating deflection of the ball from a straight median line when struck, and means actuated upon a predetermined movement of said member for locking the direction-indicating means from return movement.

9. A golf practicing machine including a plunger, a spring resisting movement of' the plunger in one direction, a golf ball tethered to the plunger, a direction indicator shifted by the ball in its flight, locking means for the direction indicator normally out of engagement therewith, and plunger-actuated means releasing said locking means when the plunger has moved a predetermined amount under the action of the struck ball.

10. A golf practicing machine including a plunger, a spring resisting movement of the plunger in one direction, a golf ball tethered to the plunger, means for indicating the direction taken by the ball in flight including a lever having teeth, and a locking device for the lever having coacting teeth, the locking device being urged into locking engagement with the teeth on the lever and having a part normally disposed against a part of the plunger when the plunger is fully retracted by the spring, said parts being so formed as to release said lever when the plunger has moved i a predetermined distance under the action of the struck ball.

11. A golf practicing machine including a plunger, a cylinder within which the plunger operates, a spring carried within the cylinder and resisting outward movement of the plunger, a golf ball tethered to the plunger, a distance indicator operated by the plunger, means for preventing reaward movement of the plunger after it has reached itsmaximum forward movement including a member arching over the plunger and having an upwardly and forwardly inclined slot and an upwardly and forwardly inclined portion disposed immediately above the slot, a roller having sliding movement in the slot and adapted to bear against said plunger and wedge loo against the downwardly inclined portion of said member, and means for releasing said roller.

i 12. A golf practicing machine including a plunger, a cylinder within which the plunger operates, a spring carried within the cylinder and resisting outward movement of the plunger, a golf ball tethered to the plunger, a distance indicator operated by the plunger, means for preventing rearward movement of the plunger after it has reached its maximum forward movement including a member arching over the plunger and having an upwardly and forwardly inclined slot and an upwardly and forwardly inclined portion disposed immediately above the slot, a roller having sliding movement in the slot and adapted to bear against said plunger and wedge against the downwardly inclined portion of said member, means for releasing said roller including a lever with which'the two ends of the roller are operatively engaged, a spring urging said lever rearward to carry the roller into wedging engagement with the plunger, and manually operated means for shifting said lever outward to release the plunger.

13. -A golf practicing machine including a plunger, a cylinder within which the plunger operates, a spring carried within the cylinder and resisting outward movement of the plunger, a golf ball tethered to the plunger, a distance indicator operated by the plunger', means for preventing` rearward movement of the plunger after it has reached its maximum forward movement including a member arching over the plunger and having an upwardly and forwardly inclined slot and an upwardly and forwardly inclined portion disposed immediately above. the slot, a roller having sliding movement in the slot and adapted to bear against said plunger and wedge against the downwardly inclined portion of said member, means for releasing said roller including a lever with which the two ends of the roller are operatively engaged, a spring urging said lever rearward to carry the roller into wedging engagement with the plunger, and manually operated means for shifting Said lever outward to release the plunger comprising a transversely extending rockshaft having a crank portion engaging the lever, the rock shaft being mounted in bearings and having means limiting its degree of Oscillation.

14. In a golf practicing machine, a cable, a golf ball, means connecting the ball to the cable comprising a cotter pin extending through the ball and having its extremities turned over within a recess formed in the ball, a sleeve clamped upon the cable, a shackle having rotative engagement with the sleeve around the axis of the cable, and a link connecting the shackle to the protruding end of the cot-ter pin.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my signature.

JOI-IN CLAYTON 'BACKUS 

